The role of the Vilmorin company in the promotion and Diffusion of the experimental science of heredity in France, 1840-1920
Résumé
Institutions in the commercial sector, especially those marketing seeds for agricultural use, have long had an interest in understanding heredity. Much of what we know of this relationship concerns the period since the rediscovery of Mendel's work in 1900. Little is known of the nature of this relationship in the nineteenth century. In this paper, we will focus on the role played by one company - the Vilmorin Company in France - in the promotion of an experimental science of heredity from 1840 to 1920.